Misplace
by mph10
Summary: First submission, so lemme know what I'm doing rightwrong. An American transfer student lives with the Higurashis, much to a certain halfdemon's dismay. What happens when he somehow is able to travel back to feudal Japan? UPDATED: Chap 2 up.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the fools from Inuyasha; all other characters are mine and mine alone. Side note; all characters created by me are somehow based upon real individuals, though names may be changed to protect the innocent. :)**

Author's Note: Having mostly seen the English versions, forgive me if my Japanese/understanding of the "houshi-sama", "wench" comments are a bit off. I'll do my best to compensate.

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**Misplace : Chapter 1: Newcomer**

Kagome tried her best to shove the sleep button down on her alarm. She'd been completely exhausted from lack of relaxation/sleep over the past week. 8 A.M. was too damned early…

_Wait a second…she thought, what day is it? Ugh. I don't even know what day it is?_

She groaned and turned back over trying to get more shut eye.

"Kagome!" the voice of her mother trailed up the stairs and stirred her to wake.

Another groan.

"Yea, mom?"

"You do realize that today is the day we get that transfer boy from America, right?"

"Oh…uh...yea, that's right. I remember now."

Having an American in the home should be interesting to say the least. Westerners always had very strange habits. Well, strange to Kagome at least; she had a transfer student back when she was in high school. He was like…German or something. Poor guy scuttled out of there about two weeks into classes. Couldn't handle the culture shock. Hopefully this new person was a little bit more hardy towards customs and the Japanese lifestyle. Thankfully, the Higurashi household didn't have to deal with the last fellow, but this time…

This time things would be different. Kagome was getting ready to graduate high school and turn 18. She smiled slightly at the thought of moving on with her life, going to college and…

_And forgetting about Inuyasha… came the sad thought to her head. Almost three years since they met, and he still hadn't caught on that she loved him. Hadn't caught on, or hadn't accepted it. _

Kagome sighed as she jumped from her bed and headed towards the bathroom.

"I have time for a shower, right mom?" she wearily asked.

"Make it quick." came her mother's flustered response.

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Inuyasha sniffed the ground, the scent of Kikyo was definitely around here somewhere.

_Ok…now. You're going to tell her, right? Going to tell her that once the Shikon shard is complete, you're going to set her soul free…not be a full demon. With…full demon powers…dammit._

"Dammit is right." Inuyasha said dimly. "Shit." The sooner the Shikon no Tama was complete, the sooner he would set Kikyo free and…

He shook the thought from his head. Time to get down to business.

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Kagome rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she waited on the train towards Narita International Airport.

"Why do _I_ have to pick up the damn American?" she sighed softly, suddenly jumping knowing that she had sworn.

_All those years with Inuyasha…heh finally wore off on me?_

She shook her head as the train sped up a bit. Nah…

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Finding a spot at the terminal was more of a pain in the ass that getting there. Kagome didn't even want to wait by the entrance, she just idled and hoped the doofus would be around the general vicinity.

_I don't know why I'm in such a bad mood today…I'll try to be nice to this guy…mm…maybe he's cute?_

She sighed again and peeked out her sunglasses with the price tag still attached to them; she wore them like that because her female friends told her the tag made her look more trendy. Like she needed their approval, but still…at least she got someone's approval. Much more than she could say for Inuyasha…

She suddenly clenched her fist. Why was the half-demon creeping in and out of her thoughts so much lately? She was still in love with him, of course, but she didn't expect it to be so hard not seeing him for the past few days; before she came back, exhausted more so than usual, she had spent almost a week and a half with the group in Feudal Japan, and it had almost been her undoing grade wise. She was able to pull off a C in math and A's in most everything else, but it had nearly cost her sanity to do so. Thank God summer was almost here. That put her back into a decent mood, decent enough to be nice to the newcomer at least. She started towards the inside of the terminal. After a few moments of gazing, a small sweat drop formed on her head…

Right in the middle of a group of people busying themselves was a rather confused looking man, of European decent no doubt, holding a crudely made sign with the words "Higurashi" scrawled on it in big black marker…and it was in English. Kagome immediately recognized it; more than a fair share of Japanese individuals spoke English, and Kagome had learned to speak it without any of the stereotypical accenting American sitcoms had placed on it. Her mother, on the other hand, was not quite so fortunate, and only grasped the language after several pleads by Kagome. Kagome claimed it was 'modernizing' her.

As Kagome waved him down she noticed his expression brightened and he put his sign back into his shoulder-slung messenger bag and picked up a piece of carry on luggage. He wore blue spec-ed sunglasses, Birkenstocks, jean shorts, a blue hat that said "College" on it, and a purple t-shirt that spat out the proclamation, "Football - Kansas State University."

A larger bead of sweat.

_Typical American…_

He clumsily held out his hand and said, "Hello!" in a rather cheery voice, "my name is Hughes. Matt Hughes."

Kagome was taken aback. She didn't expect the American to speak Japanese, but it was obvious that he was in college. She put two and two together and assumed he learned it there. Sheepishly, she shook his hand.

"Higurashi, Kagome. Pleased to meet you…" she bowed her head. He immediately bowed back almost stumbling over his luggage.

Kagome chuckled and put her hand to her mouth, "Oh you don't have to bow to me!" she said in Japanese.

"Huh? Oh, err, sorry." he replied, still talking in Japan's native tongue.

"Need any help with the luggage?" she asked.

"Course!" he said, and handed her the carry on, "I just need to go grab some more junk from the terminal. Wait for me here?" he asked politely.

Kagome almost stared through the man. Obviously not used to Japanese customs, even if he spoke the language. Oh boy…

"Uhm!…ok…" was all she could muster. He flashed her the thumbs up sign and darted off.

An exhausted sigh followed by a yawn. When she got back home, she was getting back into bed. When the American returned, he had an extremely large pull-behind piece of luggage. Kagome's eyes widened.

"You don't think you're taking that thing on the train with you, do you?" she asked hesitantly.

The American blinked.

"Train? What…you don't own a car?"

Big big ol' sweat drop.

_Typical American…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the fools from Inuyasha; all other characters are mine and mine alone. Side note; all characters created by me are somehow based upon real individuals, though names may be changed to protect the innocent. :)**

Author's Note: Having mostly seen the English versions, forgive me if my Japanese/understanding of the "houshi-sama", "wench" comments are a bit off. I'll do my best to compensate.

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**Misplace : Chapter 2: Adjustment**

The train ride back to the Higurashi house was one of awkwardness for Kagome. Hughes (he preferred to be called by his last name, due to his claim of being some sort of an athlete back in the states. In reality, all he did was play intramural football at his college) made his best attempt to get in as much of the scenery as possible. Kagome was surprised that the 20 year old was acting so awestruck; he definitely was young at heart. She smiled sadly and thought of Inuyasha, and how him being from another time didn't even phase him this much…

Once again, Inuyasha was entering her mind without her consent. She silently cursed herself for allowing this to happen, even though she had promised herself to not let this bother her long ago. At least she thought it didn't bother her.

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Kikyo floated more ethereally than usual; her soul-collectors had been wandering further and further to fuel her undead essence. She barely noticed Inuyasha's presence till he was almost on top of her.

"Once again, you return?" she asked calmly, and coldly.

Inuyasha crept out of the undergrowth and had a look of determination in his eye, something that made Kikyo take almost take a step back in midair. Was he wanting to do some manner and form of battle? Was this finally her chance to extract revenge?

Inuyahsa merely sighed and folded his arms, and said something that had been on his mind for a long time.

"Kikyo, I hope you realize what I'm here for," he said quietly, "this isn't really what I wanted to say or do, but it has to be done." he said almost as an afterthought.

Looking up into her eyes, he noticed that she had somehow gotten much closer than he would have liked. The closeness reminded him of past experiences with the miko, and it made him very very uncomfortable. He took a few defensive steps back and his hand reflexively went to the hilt of his sword, even though he had no intent of using the blade.

"And what is that, my dear half demon?" Kikyo cooed, inviting him closer with her right hand.

Inuyasha had a small bead of sweat forming on his forehead.

_Ok, what the hell is up with her? She's acting more strange than usual._

Kikyo moved closer and a small crackle of her miko power began to emanate from her palm. Inuyasha, noticing this, did a quick hop backwards and drew out Tetsuaiga.

"Look, I didn't come here to fight you!" he suddenly found himself yelling.

"Hmph. Why do you keep coming to me when I'm near you?" Kikyo asked, crossing her arms. Her soul collectors swirled around her, dropping off a few more much needed snacks.

"Because, if you recall, I made a promise to you, Kikyo; one I intend to keep." Inuyahsa responded, sheathing his powerful sword slowly.

"Your promises mean little to me, Inuyasha."

"Just hear me out."

"Why should I? You've lied to me before."

"Keh."

"Don't even try that with me, half breed!" Kikyo suddenly exploded, "I've had near enough of your trickery and that..that wench!" Kikyo was obviously mentioning Kagome, and Inuyasha caught on.

"Kagome is no wench!" Inuyasha retorted, "She's a damned good person and shouldn't get involved with problems you and I have."

Kikyo once again "humph-ed" and began to float away.

"Wait! Kikyo! There's something you need to know." Inuyahsa held up his hand beckoning her to listen to him.

She craned her head back at him; might as well let him have his say, that was the reason she had stayed so long. Having a fight in this particular moment wouldn't have accomplished anything anyway; she wanted the whore to see Inuyasha fall.

"When…when I complete the Shikon no Tama, I want to use it to…well to put you at rest." Inuyasha said slowly, evenly. He was surprised he was able to get it out that easily.

Kikyo suddenly looked as if someone had told her her puppy had died; she was awestruck and slowly floated back down to ground level, walking towards the half demon.

"And why would you do that?" she said with a hint of venom in her voice, "so you and that wench could be together?"

"Keh." was all Inuyasha said.

Kikyo, however, had noticed the redness gathering upon Inuyasha's face, and had known the half demon long enough to realize when he was trying to ignore or dodge an obvious answer to a simple question. The answer, of course, was obvious; Inuyasha had fallen for Kagome. Realizing this, Kikyo lurched back, as if hit by a large sack of potatoes or other produce item. A part of her, the human part that was still intact at least, was hurt and betrayed by this fact, and she felt something like tears well up inside of her. Of course, the large part of her existence was made up of other souls, so the feeling was fleeting at best. Rage engulfed her and she reached up to strike out at Inuyasha, who dodged and jumped away from the shaking miko.

"So...you choose her over me then? It finally comes down to it, then?" she didn't even try to hide the poisonous intent in her voice; it was evident that she had something evil planned to do to Kagome when she returned from her time.

Inuyasha's shoulders slumped slightly.

"Look, Kikyo, it's not like that." he stated plainly.

_What am I talking about? Of course it's like that…_

_Kikyo's face turned more ashen and her eyes were filled with a flame that only a female could produce; one that could light a man's fire, or extinguish it with painful finality. For our dear half demon, this was usually in the form of a well-timed "sit" command._

"Inuyasha, I don't care what you have to say anymore. Have your little strumpet. But realize this! I will make both of your lives hellish for as long as my miserable form roams this plane. Do not set me free until I extract my revenge."

With those final words, she drew an arrow from her quiver and knocked it at her bow, but before she could aim, the half demon had fled from her presence.

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The American was as talkative and friendly as the magazines and rumors had stated; bubbly, full of smiles and bright eyes, and loud. His ruffled brown hair and strange attire didn't bar him from being yanked aside and having his picture taken multiple times by hordes of fan-girls. He smiled idiotically and wrapped his arms around the waists of the cute Asian women as they flashed the "victory" sign and snapped photos of his European-ness. However, it wasn't his clothes or odd flailings, or his all-to-friendly laughs, or even his deep voice that attracted the camera's loving; it was his eyes. Kagome noticed it when they had gotten off the train and he taken off his sunglasses (since they were inside now). His eyes were different colors. Not simply different shades, but straight up different colors. The right eye was a bright emerald-green, while the left was a contrasting, almost topaz, blue. Kagome found herself pointing and gasping once he took off his glasses:

"What, you've never seen a Kate Bosworth movie before?" he asked with a small smile.

Kagome just blinked and played with her feet as a small blush overtook her.

"No, I haven't. Your eyes are…well I think they're very pretty." she said timidly.

Hughes laughed and put his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you," he said, "I hear all kinds of things from different kinds of people. I have a feeling I'll be hearing a lot of that from peeps over here, so yea. Thanks!"

Sure enough, many of the groups of people that pulled him aside happened to have an overabundance of girls, all of whom cooed and crowed over Hughes' dastardly good European looks, and of course, his "beautiful…simply gorgeous!…" eyes. Kagome couldn't help but laugh softly as the hordes of girls began to overtake him every ten steps, and had to more than once grab his arm and save him from the prying hands of her Japanese peers.

"You know, Matt-kun-"

"Hughes. Erm, Hughes-kun, rather," he corrected her.

She flushed and had a small scowl.

"Sure, _Hughes_-kun," she started. "You know you'll never get back to my place if you keep getting distracted?" she pointed the mass of girls who had begun to follow them again, snapping photos to what seemed like to Kagome all too much like blackmail.

Hughes wheeled around and extended his arms to welcome his crowd.

"Ahh, but my ladies await meh!" he proclaimed, then suddenly noticing there were too many for him to handle…

"Ahh!…on the other hand perhaps we should get back to your place Kag-san-"

"Excuse me?" Kagome said exasperated.

_Kag-san! That sounds like I'm some sort of old witch!_

"Er, well you did call me by my last name, and it's a bad habit of mine to give peeps nicknames. Uh, my bad?" he said shakily.

Kagome sighed and grabbed his hand before a fan girl grabbed another part of the American's anatomy.

"Lets just go and get you settled in, 'kay?" Kagome asked, almost scared of the response.

"I have no problem with that. Besides, I'm needin' to get down with some funk. The bastards on the flight in wouldn't allow me to listen to any of my music!"

Kagome suddenly was very frightened on what the American declared "music" to be…


End file.
